On September 29, 2014, the following Uniform Trial Court Rules (UTCRs) were amended out-of-cycle pursuant to Chief Justice Order 14-049: UTCR 21.040, 21.050, 21.070, 21.080, 21.090, 21.100, and 21.120.  The changes are summarized below:

UTCR 21.040(2)

Simplifying the rules for filing documents:

“When a document to be electronically filed includes one or more attachments, including but not limited to a documentary exhibit, an affidavit, or a declaration, the electronic filing must be submitted as a unified single PDF file, rather than as a separate electronically filed documents, to the extent practicable. An electronic filing submitted under this section that exceeds 25 megabytes must comply with subsection (1) of this rule.” Also see UTCR 21.040(2)(c).

[Former UTCR 21.040(2) described a complex filing scheme with different rules for specific types of documents: motions to strike, motions for leave to amend, attachments to a petition for post-conviction relief, attachments to a Uniform Support Declaration.  Under revised UTCR 21.040(2) all filings are unified by default.  Over-size files must still be split.  Stand-alone affidavits or declarations are filed separately.  Otherwise, if they are attachments to another document, the entire document – along with its attachments – is filed as one unified PDF.]

UTCR 21.040(2)(a) and UTCR 21.040(3)

Adding new requirements regarding submission of electronic filings requiring court signature:

• Orders, judgments, or other documents requiring court signature must be submitted separately from motions.
• Filers must include appropriate information in the filing comments field for each submission. For example: “Motion for Summary Judgment” and “Proposed Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment.”
• Any electronically submitted document that requires a court signature must include a blank space “of not less than 1.5 inches and a blank line following the last line of text” to permit the court to affix a signature and signature date.

UTCR 21.040(2)(b)

Adding new requirements regarding submission of electronic filings that include confidential attachments:

• If an electronic filing is not confidential but includes an attachment that is confidential (or exempt from disclosure), submit the attachment separately.
• Filers submitting a confidential attachment must select the “confidential check box” after attaching the confidential document.
• Filers must include appropriate information in the filing comments field for each submission. For example: “Motion for Stay” and “Confidential Attachment to Motion for Stay.”

UTCR 21.040(2)(c)

Clarifying requirements for filing affidavits and declarations:

• Documents that include affidavits and declarations as attachments must be submitted as a unified single PDF under UTCR 21.040(2).
• Affidavits and Declarations that are stand-alone documents (not an attachment to another document) are filed separately.

UTCR 21.070(3)(d)

Clarifying that motions for remedial contempt must be conventionally filed because they are created as new “criminal-base-type” cases in the eFiling system.

UTCR 21.070(3)(g) [Removed]

Permitting eFiling of amended pleadings that require payment of an additional filing fee.  Former UTCR 21.070(3)(g) required conventional filing of such documents. Also see UTCR 21.050(1) above.

UTCR 21.070(3)(l)

Adds petitions or motions for waiver of the mandatory eFiling requirement to the list of  documents that must be filed conventionally.

UTCR 21.070(3)(m)

Adds stipulated or ex parte matters listed in SLR 2.501 to the list of documents that must be filed conventionally. See Adoption of Oregon eCourt SLR Chapter 24 below.

UTCR 21.080(6)

Adds a new provision permitting relation-back of filings due to system unavailability, errors in transmission, or other technical problems that prevent the eFiling system from receiving a document.

UTCR 21.090 and 21.100

Housekeeping changes only, updating references to “subsections and “sections” for consistency throughout UTCR Chapter 21.

UTCR 21.120

Reducing the retention period of documents that contain the original signature of a person other than the filer from 10 years to 30 days.

Adoption of Oregon eCourt SLR Chapter 24

As part of going live with Oregon eCourt, a judicial district adopts uniform “Oregon eCourt” SLR Chapter 24. As a companion to new UTCR 21.070(3)(m), each court’s SLR Chapter 24 – 24.501 – will be updated to permit courts to adopt an SLR (2.501) that lists certain stipulated/ex parte matters that must be presented conventionally in that court, instead of eFiled. The SLR update will be part of the SLR chapter for Josephine, Marion, and Douglas Counties when they roll out Oregon eCourt in December 2014, and otherwise in the existing eCourt counties as they do the annual adoption of their SLRs. It provides as follows:

24.501 STIPULATED OR EX PARTE MATTERS MAY BE ELECTRONICALLY FILED

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this rule, any stipulated or ex parte matter may be electronically filed for purposes of submitting to a judge for signature.

(2) SLR 2.501 is reserved for judicial districts to adopt a local rule regarding specific stipulated or ex parte matters for which the documents must be presented conventionally and may not be electronically filed.

[All Rights Reserved 2014 Beverly Michaelis]